Wild Card Weekend is my favorite of the NFL Season, mostly because the Wild Card teams seem to play with the most abandon.
Leading up to this coming weekend were some crazy scenarios that included and unlikely Andy Dalton TD pass with less than a minute. Facing fourth down and needing 14-yards for a first down, Dalton wound up knocking the Ravens out of the post-season on a 49-yard TD pass to Tyler Boyd. Meaning the Ravens, Chargers, and the hottest team in the NFL — the Niners who won their final five games under Jimmy Garappolo — all have to wait till 2018 for a chance to play after New Year’s.
Since the Chargers were eliminated, that means no Keenan Allen, who set a single season receptions record for the team with 101, eclipsing former leader, Ladanian Tomlinson, of all humans.
Stil, this year’s Wildcard Weekend should be fun, with eight teams that were not involved in the playoffs last year making it to post-season play, highlighted by the Bills who overcame their 17-year drought.
For today, I tried to pick players — one per team on next week’s slate — whom I thought would click this coming weekend. I tried to look for bargains, assuming the likes of Alvin Kamara and Todd Gurley were the obvious kinds of choices needed as the foundation of a DFS team. The dollar values are from Draft Kings, though I am using those numbers only to show the relative value
Rishard Matthews ($4900): A sneaky pick, Matthews boasts 53 receptions from 87 targets on the season, good for 795 yards and four scores, not to mention 11.4 points per game. Add in he goes up against a sloppy pass defense, and, well, there you go.
Travis Kelce ($7100): Between Tyreek Hill and Kareem Hunt, the Chiefs have a lot of the high-priced spread kind of players. Add Kelce, although the difference is that while both Hill and Hunt are playmakers, Kelce is physical clutch performer whom Alex Smith will use as such every chance he gets.
Cooper Kupp ($5800): Kupp is surely a Jared Goff fave with 93 targets on the season — he’s seen 62 since week 6 — and on the season the third-round rookie has brought in 62 catches for 869 yards. Kupp is a serious part of the exciting Rams offense, and yet he is continually undervalued, it seems. That means I am playing Cooper until the price tag catches up.
Mohamed Sanu, Jr. ($5600): I have long been a Sanu fan, much like I have been a Ted Ginn, Jr. supporter: Both receivers do well in a secondary role. Sanu managed to nail 67 receptions for 703 yards and six TDs, and playing off Julio Jones he should see a lot of targets in the coming weekend.
Allen Hurns ($4500): Hurns came back last weekend to catch five balls, and due to being injured for so long, his cost has dropped a lot for a former #1 receiver (Hurns was that after Allen Robinson went down). He might be a bit rusty, but Blake Bortles will use him and Hurns will work into a groove.
Charles Clay ($4000): In general, I like to go cheap on the Tight End slot, for that opens up areas and budget in a lot of ways that help me assemble my rosters. In deference to the Kelce suggestion, Clay, who did catch 49 for 558 yards, matches up against a good pass defense. That suggests more close targets and more work for the well-priced receiver.
Christian McCaffrey ($6400): With Jonathan Stewart entertaining back issues, McCaffrey jumps to the top slot and should see a lot of action. The rookie has 117 carries (435 yards and two scores) and a terrific 80 receptions (113 targets) for 651 yards, giving McCaffrey 1,096 yards of total offense. He will be busy against the Saints.
Ted Ginn, Jr ($5200): If you read about Sanu above, much the same can be said of the speedy and durable Ginn, who collected 53 passes during the regular season for 787 yards, four TD’s, and 10.6 points per game. With Carolina’s 28th ranked pass defense, Ginn should get some looks.
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